Fresh Air Weekend: Ann Patchett, Ray Didinger And A Country Dilemma

Ann Patchett is an award-winning novelist and memoirist. Her other books include Truth & Beauty,The Magician's Assistant and Run.

Heidi Ross
/ Courtesy of Harper

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Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Sports Writer Ray Didinger On The Myth Of The 'Dumb' Football Player: Didinger, who has been covering football for decades, says there's a lot of thought that goes into successfully executing a football play. He tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies, "I really don't think you can be truly a dumb guy and play this game at the NFL level."

Don't Pigeonhole Me, Bro: New Country Albums On The Borderline: Both Jon Pardi and Jason Eady have to confront the dilemma of all young country musicians: how to navigate the pop current that keeps country music commercially viable while connecting to a past that fewer and fewer listeners are aware of.

Patchett: In Bad Relationships, 'There Comes A Day When You Gotta Go': Ann Patchett got married and divorced young. When she met the man who would eventually become her second husband she said: "I'll be true, I'll be faithful, I'll see you every day ... but I don't want to get married and I don't want to live together." Her new book is This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage.